Harley Benton TE-52 NA Vintage Series 5-stars Reviews

This one's a keeper!

I've been playing for over 30 years and worked at a major guitar manufacturer's Custom Shop in Nashville for 10 years. The TE-52 is a beautiful guitar. Aside from having to polish the frets, and setting it up to my liking, it was great right out of the box.

Great surprise

Being new to Harley Benton guitars I truly did not know what to expect. The TE-52 NA guitar arrived earlier than expected and was flawless. The set up was good only needing minor adjustments for personal preference. The overall quality is very good, great value for the money, and the sound is outstanding. I am really impressed with this guitar, so much so that I've already placed an order for additional Harley Benton products.

Awesome!

The guitar came set well out of the box. Strings needed some tuning and it was ready to play. The action wasn't very low, but perfect for comfortable playing.

The sound given by the pickups is incredible for a guitar of 140 EUR, surprising all professionals listening to it. It has a 100% Telecaster voice.

The tuners hold the tune well and don't need replacement, unless someone prefers other types.

The body seems a little bit heavy, but comfortable and the natural grain gives a special feeling and connection with the wood/instrument.

The neck is slightly on the thicker side, although not too thick and is quite easy to play.

Overall this is a guitar which will satisfy any Telecaster lover as well as guitar players of any level.

Solid Purchase great value

If you want a Tele this is a great guitar to start with. Its real quality for very little money. No obvious corners cut. The neck is a vintage profile and I am not fussed about that. I like the solid feel and the weight of the guitar.

I have a Squire Tele and it was a disappointment until I changed the pickups. By contrast The pickups are OK on this but if you want a stonking Guitar this is where I would at least change something. However I have not investigated yet but my Squire had 500K pots not 250K and this lifts the treble. I also fitted a new neck pickup and a treble bleed mod and now I got that deep Tele scoop sound which I love. That Pickup was £13! and transformed the guitar. The std pickups are better than the Squire pickups so unless your wanting to make this into something up market therte is no need. I have kept it standard for now as it gives me a slightly darker Tele sound and that has different creative influences. This like every Harley Benton I have purchased became my go to guitar. So I would say for a beginner or somene who wants a Telecaster this is the best all round value on the market.

Good guitar!

Very good tool. Good quality! A little heavy, but I really like it.

I did not think that a tool of this class could be so cheap!

With it you can make small improvements to turn it into a professional tool! That's cool!

Very impressed

This is my third Harley Benton and once again I am very impressed with the overall quality.

I like to put my own mark on my guitars and all the mods I’ve done didn’t really need it, it’s just my own personal touches.

Setting up needed a bit of work, truss rod needed a tweak, and I’ve cut the nut slots a bit deeper as the gap on the first fret was a bit high. Might replace the nut at some time.

Fitted Kluson tuners as the ones fitted had some issues.

Fitted Bare Knuckle Bootcamp pickups, with CTS pots, switchcraft jack, CRL three way, orange drop cap and a Wilkinson bridge with compensated brass saddles.

To fit the CTS pots, you’ll need to drill out the holes in the control plate and the CRL screw holes need a bit of a tweak.

Body and neck are great, it feels quality. Heavy guitars don’t bother me so the fact this one is north of 9lbs is fine.

Frets we’re a bit scratchy but after half an hour of playing they are fine now.

With all the mods I’m in to the TE52 for around £360 including purchase price. That wouldn’t even get me a Squire Tele which would still have cheap components that would need to be upgraded anyway.

In my opinion, these are great guitars and I’m more than happy to gig with any of my HB guitars. If you want a Tele to complete your collection, I think the TE 52 is definitely the way to go.

Just wow

This came perfectly setup no issues sounds amazing she is heavy but I love that and pickguard came with light scratches but it's a pickguard lol but this guitar is same as a made in Mexico tele new main axe for sure

HB TE52

Whole lot of machine for the money.

Plays well out of the box

excelent for the price

Bought this T-style guitar, so I would have two completely different guitars with different tuning and pickups. I haven't played any other telecasters or T-style guitars, so this is new for me, and it's hard to compare to anything.

Overall you get, what you pay for, and even more. It's a good quality guitar with good sound and feel right out of the box. Frets didn't have any sharp edges, and feel quite good. Probably some extra fret polish would be preferable, as well as intonation adjustments, but overall it's good to go.

About the looks - the neck and head looks just fantastic! Such a beautiful piece of wood and silky smooth. I wish I could say the same about the body. I'm not a snob about dents and scratches, because instruments have to be played, not held in glass container, so I don't mind a small crack in the finish, and few dents in the wood underneath the finish. They are barely visible, and, probably, after a while, there will be more from wear and tear. However, I have mixed feelings about the finish on the body. It looks really thick and depending on lightning in the room, change the overall look.

It's a budget guitar for beginners, but it has potential. Really heavy though.

In conclusion - 5 stars for the price and overall quality

Thank you again, Tomann.

I received the guitar I ordered safely.

It arrived at my house in Japan in just 3 days as scheduled since it was shipped.

If you buy a guitar in stock, you can buy it in any country in the world as if you were shopping in your own country.

This is my second purchase of a guitar at this shop, but I was able to buy it with confidence.

And as for the guitar review, the TE52 is also great value!

If you buy a guitar of this quality at a Japanese shop, it will be even more expensive. It will be cheaper even if you add up the international shipping charges.

The neck feels a little heavy, but the finish is good and there is no graininess on the frets.

If the edges of the fingerboard are a little rounder, I think it's easier to play like a high-end guitar, but it's not bad.

I'm glad that the paint on the body was also glossy and finished very beautifully.

It can't be helped because I buy it online, but the grain of the body and the grain of the neck depend on luck. My TE52 has a big knot in the middle of the body, which is a bit disappointing, but it's a cheap guitar, so it can't be helped.

I like this guitar. I think it's a guitar that can be used enough for beginners' practice.

Thank you again, Tomann.

Great Sound Guitar

I didn't change anything to get a great sound!

Fabulous Value, Snappy Telecaster

The Harley Benton TE-52 NA is a fabulous value for beginners, novice players and Gigging professionals. The guitar looks and feels like a vintage instrument made by the guitar gods, the guitar is perfect for Country Licks, Blues standards and Three Chord Rock. The Classic two Roswell pickups give the TE-52NA a wide range of perfect balance of snappy cleans and overdriven tones. With a price point that won't hurt your wallet especially for working musicians where every dollar counts.

A proper Tele

I actually got this in 2015, and didn't get round to doing a review, so this probably won't be much help to anyone, but apart from the pickups (mine came with Wilkinsons) I don't imagine much has changed.

As many reviewers have noted, these are very heavy guitars: I haven't bothered to weigh it, but trust me-it's heavy. It is also absolutely beautiful, the finish is high gloss on the body, and a sort of satin vintage tint to the neck.

I have my reservations about HB quality control, I have three, and have had to do a bit to them all, (but never anything major, or damage etc). The neck fit on mine is great. I had to do the usual stuff, truss rod, action, intonation etc, but none of it was miles out. The nut was ok ish, but I had a bit of an issue with the high E slipping off the neck sometimes. I have seen others mention this on youtube reviews, I think John Robson mentioned the string spacing at the bridge being to do with it when he had a FLT 90. I prefer heavier strings than were supplied, and changing these and fitting a Tusq nut sorted that for me. The tone pot was loose on arrival. The original saddles have been replaced with compensated brass ones, and I have fitted roller string trees. Oddly, mine arrived with only one string tree. The tuners were pretty cheap, but actually worked ok, if a bit stiff, but it stayed in tune pretty well. One of the tuner buttons broke about six months ago however, so I have replaced them for split post Wilkinsons.

With a little work and a fret polish it is now a really lovely guitar. It looks great, sounds like a Tele should, and plays beautifully. Oh, and it's cheap as chips.

Very good quality and yet extremely affordable

This guitar is just as good as any Fender Telecaster you migh t think of. The build quality is superb, intnation was bang on right out of the box. My only nit-picky grip is that the fret wires need a little polishing. Satisfaction guaranteed!!

Everyone who likes this guitar has great taste.

This is the best guitar I have ever played, it looks amazing. Everyone who likes this guitar has great taste. Authentic cutie.

Best bang for buck... even it was more expensive!

I'm a beginner to intermediate level, and this guitar (alongside a more expensive SC-550 II), were my first Harley Benton purchases. Amazing quality for what you pay, even if it was twice the price. I managed to get one of the first "caramelized fretboard" ones and while don't have experience with the previous version, this one looks great (even compared to other brands). It was also my first T-style guitar, and can't believe how I hadn't had one before. I'm basically running the bridge pickup all the time... SPANKY! :D

Oh, and basically didn't do any setup out of the box =o

Worth the price

A relatively familiar take on the TE style guitar, leaving little room for innovation I suppose but at least you can feel confident in what you should expect.

Again, for the price this is a great experience on part with guitars that cost twice as much for much larger brand names.

Mine arrived and it looked even better than the pictures alluded to.

My only complaint is the strings it was sent with are clearly aged as if they had set it up and let it sit in a show room, a small detail but otherwise fantastic, I can deal with paying the $8 for strings if I can know the instrument will arrive like this.

No Frills T-Style Guitar…

Great sounding T-Style Guitars with that “Twang” sound, No frills Guitar that does that T-Style Thing!

Great looking, great price, great sounds & a brilliant service.

Wow…

I am speechless and blown away. I have been playing for 21 years and this is the best guitar i have played for under 200. I recommend it to any level of player looking for a tele style guitar. The neck alone is worth more than what the entire guitar costs. The pickups have that signature twang tone that this shape is famous for. The only thing I recommend replacing is the tuners and the bridge saddles, but other than that this guitar is really great. I just ordered the te-62 charcoal frost and can’t wait to play it and compare the two.

Great guitar, Great Feeling Neck, Great Price

This is a great guitar for around $200 US. The neck is pretty substantial and has a satin finish, unlike a lot of budget guitars. I like the pickups, but will probably end up swapping them out eventually. The build quality is great, especially for the price. The frets are nice and level and no sharp ends, but they are not polished. (I took some steel wool to them and they feel much better now). My biggest complaint is that the body is super heavy. The guitar weighs close to 10 lbs. Besides the weight, this guitar is gig ready.